Water transport is one of the oldest means of transport in India but not very popular in the country. This is mainly due to seasonal concentra­tion of rainfall.

The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) was set up in October 1986 with the « IWAI Act » of 1985. Five « National Waterways (NW) » have been declared through Acts of Parliament and they come under the purview of Central Governement. The other waterways are under the purview of the respective State Governements.

The IWAI is mandated to take up the infrastructure development and regulation on national waterways, set up techno- economic feasibility studies, advise the Central Governement on inland waterway transport matters and provide assistance to states in inland waterway transport development.

Main challenges for the future:

-Maintenance of the targeted LAD as a number of shoals form simultaneously during lean season.

-Availability of adequate dredgers for talking the shoals.

-Availability of technology for channel stabilization/ rectification

-Remoteness of the area

-Sufficient resources (government funding)

The Ganga : distribution of the goods tranported on the Indian inland waterways in 2010 and 2011